The Little Girl At The Laundromat

She held out her sticky popsicle to me and offered me a lick. The little girl looked about seven years old. "Oh, thank you. I'm okay." I said with a smile. "What's your name?" I asked. The little girl looked at me with her dark eyes and said "Bree"."What a pretty name; my name is Dallas. Is that a good popsicle?" Bree nodded shyly. My older sister and I sat waiting for our clothes to finish drying at the laundromat, and Bree, who was waiting with her mother, had wandered over to us.

My sister and I continued to talk to her. We played a game of tic-tack-toe and drew together on some paper my sister had with her. As we drew, I asked Bree, "Do you know who Jesus is?" She looked up and thought for a moment before replying in her little voice "Um... yeah, He's up there." She pointed upwards.  I asked her if she knew who Adam and Eve were, but she did not. I told her the story and explained that they disobeyed God and had to be separated from Him. I also explained that we too have disobeyed God, and we would have to die and be separated from Him too. I asked her if she knew what Jesus did for her so that she would not have to die and be separated from God. She did not, so I told her that Jesus is God's Son and God sent Him to earth to save us. He never sinned and He died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. I told her that if she asked God to forgive her and trusted in Him, that He would forgive her and give eternal life.

We had to dry our clothes at the laundromat because my little sister's asthma got worse when we dried them at home. I had brought a book to read while I waited, but God had something else planned. I did not know I would have an opportunity to share the gospel. Sometimes our opportunities to share the gospel come to us in unexpected places, and sometimes all we have to do is ask a few questions and show kindness to others. It could be a sticky little girl with a popsicle or an old lady sitting on the bench at Walmart. It could be somebody who you do not know, or it might be somebody in your own home. It is important to, "always [be] ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" 1Peter 3:15. The truth is, we have many opportunities to share the gospel; sometimes we just do not make good use of them. Who knows, you might have an opportunity today. Ask God to help you make the most of every opportunity He gives you, and be sensitive to the spirit.

What Do You Want To Be Known For?

There are many things that I want people to think of me, but I asked myself the other day,"What do I most want to be known for? Is it my talents, my beauty, or my intellect?" As I pondered this, another question came to mind,"What should I be known for?" Then God brought a verse to mind, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."John 13:35

Of all the things that I want to be known for, the greatest thing I want to be known for is God's love in me. First Corinthians 13:1-3 says, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing." If I have all talent, beauty, and intellect but do not have love, I am nothing. If we are in Christ we should be known for love, for "God is Love"1 John 4:8. I want to be more loving.

What are you known For? What do you want to be known for? How can you become what you want to be?